Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Idol of Bone
SERIES: Looking Glass Gods #1
AUTHOR: Jane Kindred
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
LENGTH: 281 Pages
BLURB:
One stranger seeks to claim her heart…another is destined to destroy her.
Ra. Just two letters. Barely a breath. When she stumbles into the frozen Haethfalt highlands, her name is all she has—the last remnant of a past she’s managed to keep hidden, even from herself. Her magic, however, isn’t so easy to conceal—magic that’s the province of the Meer, an illicit race to which she can’t possibly belong.
The eccentric carpenter who takes her in provides a welcome distraction from the puzzle of herself. Though Jak refuses to identify as either male or female, the unmistakable spark of desire between them leaves Ra determined to find out what lies beneath the enigmatic exterior.
But more dangerous secrets are brewing underneath the wintry moors. Jak’s closest friend, Ahr, is haunted by his own unspeakable past. Bounty hunters seeking fugitive Meer refuse to leave him in peace.
Harboring feelings for both Ra and Ahr, Jak nonetheless struggles to keep them apart. Because like the sun and the moon coming together, their inevitable reunion has the potential to destroy Jak’s whole world.
Warning: Shape-shifting? That’s so last millennium. Reincarnation? Yawn. Get ready for a gender-bending fantasy that will fire your imagination and haunt your dreams.
REVIEW:
I’m truly at a loss of where to start on this one. Did I like it? Yes. Was it a good story? Yes. Did it confuse the everlasting HELL out of me? Yes. I was so confused, as the author intended, on what gender most of the characters were that at times I had to actually stop and think about it for a minute! And that didn’t include the character of Jak, who refuses to identify as either gender.
When the book begins, we meet a woman named Ra. She awakens naked, in a snow storm, not having any idea where she is. The only thing she does know was that it was a lot warmer when she died. So ok, with that line, I was kind of hooked.
Ra, it turns out is some sort of sorceress because she conjures up a fur coat and boots before she heads for the lights she can see in the distance. Getting to the village she meets Jak, who as I mentioned above, refuses to identify as either gender, and is currently celibate. Jak takes Ra home to the shared, mainly underground, home of Jak’s family, where Ra is accepted. But strange things happen when Ra conjures other items. Jak tells her to stop because the only people with those sorts of powers are the Meer, a race that was wiped out thirteen years before in a massacre, known as “The Expurgation”. Meer hunters still search for any remaining members of the race that escaped.
Also living in the village is Ahr, a man from the Delta region where the Meer lived. He isn’t a Meer, but what is he exactly? Ahr is hiding a huge secret, and the secret involves the former incarnation of Ra. And why are the Meer hunters visiting Ahr?
Jak takes Ahr to a close town to buy supplies. While there Ahr meets Cree a woman he knew in his past in the Delta. Cree and her female lover, Ume, have run from the horrors of the past and taken refuge in the far north as well. Cree and Ume are hiding a secret that few know about Ume as well. Something that would be illegal in the newly “Meer free” south.
When Ahr and Ra finally meet, sparks fly and Ra takes off into a snowstorm by herself. Her flight sets off a chain of events that will lead the length of the land and draw everyone back to the city that both Ra and Ahr have fled.
The book was well written and well edited. If you had asked me half way through if I was going to read the sequel, I more than likely would have said no. I was sooooo confused. Reading the end of the book, I’d have to change my answer to yes. If you’re looking for an m/m romance, skip this one because it won’t be what you’re looking for. There is even some talk about girly bits, though not a lot.
I recommend the book. If gender fluidity is your thing, it will be right up your alley. Be prepared to be confused, particularly in the first third of the book. But hold on, it all comes together eventually!
RATING:
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